Three Little Words
by Nymeria31
Summary: The first I Love You can be tricky, just ask Will Solace.
1. Chapter 1

The first thing I will do is to thank everyone who is reading this. The second thing is to apologize for any mistake you might find (English second language) and last but not least I hope you enjoy this little thing I wrote while I was drinking some wine. Also, reviews are welcomed, have a nice day :)

Disclaimer: The characters in this Story belong to Mr. Riordan

* * *

Will Solace was not an average teenager. He was a demigod, a son of Apollo and that came with some perks. He got notions of Archery, he might not be as good as some of his other siblings, but he could survive in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse. His singing had the ability to heal people or curse them if he wanted to, which was an amazing weapon. He could play any instrument with an easiness that left everyone speechless. Now, Will loved all of these, but healing was his pride and joy; the thing that made him smile every morning, that made him feel good about himself. He was capable of helping people and relief them a bit of their pain.

Since he was a child, Will had always wanted to be a Doctor. He had all his life planned out to achieve that goal. He would work hard to become the best doctor in the history of mankind. Once he found out about his demigod status he knew that he could make a difference in the world with his powers. Also, the fact that he could get killed by a monster at any minute was a powerful motivator to live his life to the fullest. Will made friends, loved his family and promised himself that he would never let anything slip through his fingers.

When Will realized that he had feelings for Nico di Angelo he did everything in his power to get him.

Will Solace was a happy boy with a goal in mind that he work hard every single day to accomplish. He was in love with life. However, he had not expected love to hit him so fucking hard in the face the way it did.

It was like one day he was walking down the street and this big pink truck named love just ran over him and turn him into a giant pile of disgusting goo.

Will still couldn't believe how easy it had been for him to fall in love with Nico. It had been like going down on a roller coaster. Gods, no, bad analogy. It had been like Lucifer falling down from Heaven. No, it had been like and elevator crashing down from a 30-storied building.

 _Seriously, what's wrong with you?_ Will thought, why did he keep comparing falling in love with tragic things. It was possible that he was disappointed. Romance novels, movies, soap-operas (guilty pleasure) and people kept describing the act of falling in love as an out of this world experience with the butterflies - a scientifically impossible fact- and shit.

It was nothing like that. Will's experience had been like when in action movies there is a car coming towards someone and that someone should move, but they just stand there, staring like an idiot and trying not to piss themselves.

Holy shit! That's exactly how it happened. Will had been just standing in the middle of camp admiring the beautiful sky and smelling the flowers when Nico just came out of nowhere and tackled him. That's how he felt in love. It was painful, and of course being a Doctor, Will approached the situation as if it was a disease. His pulse was accelerated, his hands kept shaking, he felt like vomiting, which in retrospective that's why he thought he was sick (butterflies are not supposed to do shit like that to you) It took a few weeks and his sister, Kayla, to determine that there was nothing wrong with him.

"You have nothing, Will. You are the epitome of good health. A lot of people would kill you for this," said Kayla for the thousand time. She was getting tired of this.

"Kayla, something is wrong with me. I just know it." Will threw himself on one of the beds, face first, showing that he could be dramatic too.

Kayla stood in front of him; she hadn't hit Will because he was her brother and she loved him, but Lord help her, she wanted to smack the stupid out of him, "Will, you are fine. I'm your sister and I love you, but if you don't leave this infirmary right now, I will not be responsible for my actions." She kicked him out of the bed, "Now, you go and find that boyfriend of yours. Make out or something, just get the hell out of here." Kayla dragged him out of the infirmary and closed the door right on his face.

There he was, betrayed by his own sister who was supposed to be a HEALER. Although, he could follow her advice and find Nico, have a make out session; there's nothing Nico's kisses couldn't cure. Yes, that was a brilliant idea, Kayla finally said something useful. Will made his way to the arena where Nico spent most of his time; only the Gods knew why to Will, Nico was a badass and he could defeat anyone or anything he wanted.

The arena was full today, but it was always easy to find Nico thanks to the other boy's lack of color in his wardrobe. Nico was a black dot in a sea of orange. He was far back, sparring with Lou Ellen. Will was smiling, it made him happy to see how those two had become friends so easily; if there was somebody who would take no shit from Nico or make him feel like it, that one was Lou Ellen.

Nico was attacking her, giving no respite. They might be friends, but Nico took his training seriously and Lou Ellen was capable opponent as well; they always ended up at the infirmary after a day of training. Suddenly, it happened. Will was watching Nico and his heart stopped mid-heartbeat, there was a pain in the center of his chest, he was losing his breath, he was sweating, his legs almost gave up and he wanted to throw up. _Oh, Gods, I'm dying, I'm having a heart attack, I'm seventeen years old and I'm having a heart attack. Please, don't let me die in front of Nico, he doesn't deserve this._

Will was holding himself against the wall, telling himself to calm down, he was a doctor goddamn it, if somebody should keep his shit together was him. He ran the symptoms through his head, thinking what kind of disease besides a heart attack could make somebody experiment all those at once.

Then, he felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked up and Nico was there. Apparently, his presence had not gone unnoticed and it wasn't until he was staring at those beautiful eyes that he understood what was happening. He was in love. Will Solace was utterly and desperately in love with Nico di Angelo, which was good taking into account that he thought he was about to die. However, that was a terrifying prospect. Nico and Will had only been together for a couple of months. This was not possible.

Nico had a worried look on his face, his mouth was moving, but it was impossible for Will to focus on anything different than the epiphany he just had.

"... Okay?"

"What?"

"I'm asking if you are okay. You were about to pass out." He put his hand on Will's cheek and that touch undid him. He was gone.

"I'm fine," he managed to put those words together out of the mess that was his brain right now. "Just some stomach bug going around. Nothing to worry about." He had everything to worry about. He couldn't tell Nico how he felt, not yet. Will might be ready for it, but not Nico. He was still trying to feel comfortable with the fact that he was in a relationship, with another boy, throwing an I love you would just make him go back to be his not so former broody self.

"Are you sure?" Nico asked, touching Will's cheek. Gods, that touch turned Will into a babbling idiot. "At least you are not dying. I would feel it."

 _That is reassuring_ , Will thought. "I'm fine. I'm sure of that. Now, why don't you give me a kiss, you know, to check that I'm okay." He let out his most brilliant smile.

Nico let go of him and was looking at Will through narrowed eyes. "Did you come here and pretended to be sick just to make out with me?"

Will shrugged, neither admitting nor denying Nico's accusation.

"You're an idiot," Nico left and continue with his practice. Will sighed, maybe he was not in love after all.

* * *

As it turned out, Will was in love. He wanted so bad to say those words out loud, but he couldn't.

It was hard to be in love with someone when they didn't love themselves. It didn't matter how many times the word Love was said, how many times you showed with actions how deep your feelings are. The doubt was always going to be there. There was always going to be a little voice in the back of Nico's mind telling him that he wasn't good enough, smart enough, strong enough. To sum up that he wasn't enough for Will, that there was no reason why would anyone love him.

Will wanted so hard to tell Nico how he felt, how he loved him and what an important part of his life he was, but it is also hard to believe how many people considered love a burden, something unwanted. He didn't want to believe that Nico was one of those people. On the other hand, he was not ready to find out whether that was truth or not.

There were moments when he had to physically restrain himself from saying it, like right now. Nico was helping him study. Pre-med was not cheap and he needed excellent grades if he wanted to get at least half a scholarship. There was no way in hell he could afford full tuition, hence the long study sessions with Nico.

The other boy was scratching his nose and then went back to writing. He looked so cute doing that. Will was 100% positive that he looked like a moron when he was contemplating Nico doing mundane stuff.

Nico had been so helpful. He had stayed with Will studying until the wee hours of the morning. He couldn't thank him enough. The I love you was once again trying to escape his lips.

"You're staring, Solace," said Nico without raising his head from the book.

"Not my fault. You're like the brightest star in the sky. It's my obligation to look at you and appreciate your greatness." He winked and gave Nico a lopsided smile.

"That was the cheesiest line to ever come out of your mouth. Now are you studying or am I staying up late for nothing?" Nico gave Will a stern look and okay, to Will, stern Nico was pretty hot.

"I was thinking that we could rest a little. Kiss for a bit."

"That's a distraction."

"You call it a distraction, I call it motivation. Let's make a deal, we make out for like 5 minutes, 10 maybe and then I go back to study, this time, with a new sense of purpose."

Nico was staring at him now. That was never good. "That's bullshit and you know it," he put the book down and carefully marked the page he was reading so he could come back to it later. "However, who am I to say no to such a convincing argument."

Nico was still extremely uncomfortable when it came to PDA, but when they were in private, he became a different person and Will would be lying if he said that he didn't like it.

They kissed and everything disappeared around Will. The only thing that mattered was Nico's mouth, Nico's hair, Nico's hands, Nico's scent. A scent that could drive any guy insane and Will was happy that he was the one who got to enjoy that.

Nico's kisses were perfection, there was only one problem; they turned Will's brain to mush. The kisses should come with a label "Do not operate heavy machinery after having one of these."

Will forgot what brain-mouth coordination was. The words just slipped out of him as if by magic.

"I love you, Nico." He said it. He actually said it, and judging by the horrified expression on Nico's face this was not going to end well.

Nico moved away from Will as far away as humanly possible. He stood up and started pacing around the room, like a caged lion. Will didn't know what to do. "Nico," he said, hesitant about touching him, afraid that Nico might shadow travel out of there.

"I... Uh... I think I'm going to leave now. This was a long night. Bye." Without waiting for an answer Nico left and Will stayed behind with an outstretched hand and a broken heart.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi, I want to thank the people that left a review last time. just to clarify something, here Will and Nico are going to the same school. It's one of those schools where students live there, I don't know the name of those schools in English. I hope you like it and my usual apology when you find a mistake.

Disclaimer: These characters belong to Mr. Riordan

* * *

 _I love you, I love you, I love you._

Those words kept resonating in Nico's head long after he left Will. _I love you._ How can three little words have so much power?

He should be asleep by now, but the only thing in his mind was Will's cute blush while he confessed to Nico. _I love you._ Why? Things were going great between them. Yes, they had arguments, but no couple is perfect and they always found a way to make it work. Nico still had nightmares, but they were happening few and far between. He was getting used to finally being open about his sexuality and not feeling as if he should be ashamed of it. He was not hiding anymore; Nico was finally discovering that it was allowed for him to be happy, to be with whoever he chose to be, that it was okay to move on, even though Bianca and his mother were not longer with him. Nico was getting the puzzle that was his life back together, piece by piece, and now he felt as if everything was a mess again thanks to Will's confession.

Nico was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling, listening to the snores of his roommate. That usually bothered him, but tonight it was actually providing a nice background noise to Nico's thoughts. Why was Will in love with him? How did that even happen? How do people fall in love that easy? He was not an easy person to be around. Nico refused to be overly affectionate in public, he called Will an idiot at least once a day (Although, it was more a term of endearment these days) He was difficult to be with. Nico was what people called before damaged goods "Wow, way to go with the self-loathing, Nico." he muttered.

Nico was still not completely recovered, there were days when he felt as if he was still trapped in Tartarus, and other days he didn't want to get out of bed; living when other people were dead was not easy. Nico was getting there, he had good friends supporting him, his sister Hazel, and Will. It was a start, they were helping, but there were some demons that he could only defeat on his own.

 _I love you._ Those words were stuck in his head, like a bad song that just kept repeating over and over. Nico had always thought that Will was perfect, but there must be something wrong with the guy if he thinks he is in love with Nico. There was no other explanation, Will was crazy. That was it; tomorrow, they would talk about it. Will would see that he made a mistake and everything was going to be fine again; nobody needed to be in love with anybody.

Now that he was more relaxed Nico could go to sleep. His last thought before finally falling asleep was that it was sad that he had to convince himself that he was so damaged it was impossible for Will to love him.

* * *

The good thing about being younger than Wil, they were taking different classes, they rarely bumped into each other, so it was easy to avoid him. The bad thing, it was the same school.

Nico had successfully avoided Will the whole morning by saying things like "I'm late for class" or "Sorry, I have to poop." He still couldn't believe he said that, but the truth is nobody wants to hang out with a person that has to go number 2. However, Will was waiting for him outside his classroom. That had been his last class of the day, there was no way in hell he could escape now. What happened with avoiding people in awkward situations?

"Oh, Will, I didn't see you there," better to play it dumb. It was not an easy feat with the disappointing look on Will's face. Nico looked down, he could take that look from anyone, but not from Mr. Sunshine.

"Nico, would it be possible for us to talk or do you have to poop again?" asked Will, with a mix of annoyance and amusement in his voice.

He didn't like confrontations. Nico was a capable warrior, he did not mind going into battle any day of the week, he was perfectly comfortable facing demons and monsters. However, when it came to talking about his feelings, he just couldn't do it, he was not used to it.

"I don't think we should talk."

"So, what? do you plan on avoiding me for the rest of your life? I thought we were in a relationship. If you are not feeling comfortable with something, you know we can talk about it because…"

 _communication is key._ Yes, Nico didn't need to hear the rest to know how it was going to end. It was not the first time they had had that discussion. Nico was a practical person, he didn't think that it was necessary to share everything that was going through his mind, having a heart to heart conversation was not his style.

Most of the time, Will respected him, sometimes he had convinced Nico that sharing could make him feel better. Nico told him about the time he spent in Tartarus and even he had to admit that it had been liberating, but he was not ready to have this conversation.

Nico looked up and Will had this hopeful expression on those beautiful eyes of his. How could he say no to that? He nodded. Will sighed in relief, he took Nico's hand and they walked to their favorite place in that school. It was an isolated area where nobody went because there were rumors that the place was haunted.

Truth be told, Nico and Will needed a private space, so Nico did a little summoning to ensure that. Will nagged him about it for weeks, but he stopped complaining when he discovered the advantages of having a place for just them.

They sat down; they couldn't meet each other's eyes, it was the most awkward Nico had ever been in his life, including that infamous family dinner in the Underworld. Nico opened his mouth to say something but closed it because he was at a loss for words.

"Nico, what I said. You don't have to say it back. I just wanted you to know how much you mean to me. It's not a binding contract, it's me being honest and open in this relationship." Will stretched his hand as if to take Nico's, but apparently thought better of it and pull it back.

 _I want you to touch me,_ Nico thought. He could have never said those words out loud. He didn't know what to say after that statement. He was feeling like shit now. It's not like he didn't care about Will, he did, so much. Still, there was a difference between caring and loving, and he was not there yet. Nico needed to love himself first before being willing to make that commitment to someone else.

"Will…. I…. I….." He let out a long breath, gathered some courage and continue, "I think you are pretty cool." he groaned. _Gods, please, kill me now._ Those were dangerous thoughts, Zeus might actually smite him just for fun. Nico couldn't help noticing the flash of hurt in Will's eyes.

"Shit, that sounded lame. I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. You know me; I don't know how to express myself in this kind of situation." He didn't say anything else as if that was explanation enough.

"A couple takes two people, Nico. I can't be the only one taking the burden of the conversation. Ignoring this situation is not going to make it disappear."

"Perhaps we should ignore it, Will. I'm not ready for this and you can't force me to deal with this right now."

Will passed his hand through his hair, he was getting annoyed, "I'm not forcing you to do anything. You don't even have to say it back."

"You say that now, but then in a few months, you are going to be pushing me and wondering when I'm going to say it. The thing is you can't pressure me like this. You can't throw this bomb on me and expect me to be happy about it. This is too much."

"Sorry, I didn't know I was such a burden to you."

"That's not what I said and you know it. Stop putting words in my mouth." Nico stood up and started pacing around. It was what he usually did in the middle of an unwanted argument, that or shadow traveling.

"That's how it felt," said Will in a whispered.

Nico was about to smack him in the face. Why couldn't Will get angry like other people and punch him or something? Nope, Will Solace went straight for the emotional jugular if there was such a thing.

"You're not a burden, Will." Nico sat back down in front of Will, he needed to do this face to face. "There was a time when I thought that I would never be happy again. That I would stay trapped in that void forever. Then, I met you and things were not in black anymore. There were a few speckles of color here and there. I thank you for that, but there are things that I still have to deal with by myself and you telling me how you feel, it's just making some things more complicated than they should be. I'm sorry."

They stayed there looking at everything but each other in silence, and not the comfortable silence Nico loved so much every time he was with Will; the kind of silence that doesn't have to be fill up with mindless chatter. This was the silence that announces when something unpleasant was about to happen. It pained him more than anything, but Nico knew what he needed to do.

"I think we should break up." At that Will looked up. One of the things Nico like the most about Will was those ridiculous anime eyes. It was possible to read everything he was feeling, Will was an open book. Today was not the exception, Nico could see hurt, desperation, fear and pain, so much pain. He was breaking Will. He didn't want to be the one to do this to him, but it was the right decision. _For you maybe,_ he thought. He couldn't keep sucking the happiness out of Will. It was not fair for either of them.

"Your solution for this is to break us up. Not to talk about it or to reach a compromise. You are certainly a fatalist."

"We should be apart for a while. I need to think things over and I can't have you on my back all the time while I'm doing it."

Gods, no. Will was tearing up, those blue eyes were shining with unshed tears. Will stood up and looked at Nico; the pain was still there, but there was also a determination that he had never seen before. "Are you sure that this is what you want? I'm not going to beg you to stay with me if that is not what you desire. Still, were all those months that we were together so meaningless to you?"

 _Maybe lying would make this easier._ At least that's what Nico was hoping. He stood up as well and put on his mask, he couldn't let Will see how much this was breaking him. "They were not meaningless, but they were not especially significant."

Will let out a bitter laugh. Nico had never heard a sound like that coming out of Will's mouth before, nor he wanted to hear it again.

"See, now you are deliberately trying to hurt me to make this easier. You know you are making a mistake, but you refuse to back down; your stubbornness is getting the best of you." Will took Nico's hand and squeezed it hard, then he let it go. "I'm not giving up on us, come find me when you realize that self-sabotage is not the solution to everything. I'll be waiting for you, no matter how long it takes." He kissed Nico on the forehead and left.

Nico touched his forehead, feeling the ghost of Will's lips there. He let go of the tears he'd been holding since he was ten. He cried for his mother, for his sister, for all those times he felt abandoned and alone, and finally, he cried for Will. He cried until there was nothing else he needed to cry for.


	3. 20 Questions

Hello, so I was not going to write anything else for this, but I couldn't help it. Apparently, I have no self-control. It ended up being too long too.

I want to thank you for your comments and the one that told me about the Boarding School, thank you so much.

I hope you like this and have a good day. Also, apologizing in advance when you find a mistake.

* * *

It has been a week since Nico decided that breaking up with Will was what he needed. Until this day he had no idea that he was an idiot. This week had been the worst seven days of his life -without counting Tartarus- He spent the first two days lying in his bed, looking at the ceiling and thinking how big of an asshole he had been.

He missed Will. It was true that it is not until you lose something that you begin appreciating what you had. Although there was a slight difference in his situation, he didn't lose it, he threw away because apparently, he hated himself.

If he would have told his classmates that the was the Ghost King, they would have believed him. Nico looked paler than usual, he had not seen the sunlight for a week. There was no point in going outside by himself. Nico loved being indoors, outside there were only things that somehow always try to kill him. However, Will was an outdoorsy person, he convinced Nico to go outside more, to do sports, to socialize. Nico was terrified of socializing with other people. He was getting used to being open with his sexuality, but there were some people who still try to make him feel less for it. He didn't want to deal with it, but Will made him see that not everybody was like that. So, they went outside and "socialize" although Will did most of the talking. It was a bit less terrifying with him by his side.

Nico was in his usual spot now. In his bed, looking at the ceiling. Ceilings were so fascinating, they were like a giant, blank canvas for your thoughts. The last few days he had been thinking how Albert Camus was right; life was absurd. We based our existence looking for some sort of meaning without finding any. We look for happiness and we end up being unhappy because we can't find it. The contradiction of life. What a bullshit.

Somebody touched his shoulder. In other circumstances, he would have jump and push the stranger who dared touch the Ghost King. Now, he just turned his head and stared and the perpetrator, hopefully, that would be enough. It was his roommate, Damian. There was an unspoken agreement between them of not getting in each other's space since the first day the met. What was the guy thinking? At least he jumped back at the stared Nico gave him, but he was still too close for Nico's comfort.

"What?"

"I…" The poor kid looked like he was about to soil his pants. "I wanted to know how you are feeling."

Nico raised his eyebrows, to say that the question was unexpected would be an understatement. "Why?"

"Because you've not eaten properly and I think people might think I kill you if you die."

Nico smirked, his face hurt a little. He had not been able to smile for seven days. "Don't flatter yourself, and have you been stalking me?"

"No, but you haven't been going to the cafeteria. You've been creepier than usual and your boyfriend hasn't been here. I'm not stupid."

"You could have fooled me."

"Could you stop being a giant douche for a minute? I thought you might need to talk to someone. You're gonna explode at some point and I don't want to be collateral damage."

Nico wanted to punch him, but he didn't have the energy. _Who does he think he is? I don't need a shoulder to cry on._ Although he had to give it to the kid, he was trying to be nice to Nico and there was no reason for him to do it. Nico was going to go easy on him.

"Look, I appreciated what you are doing, but I don't need to talk to anyone. All I need is to spend a few more days like this and everything will be fine."

"Is that how you deal with things?"

"Pretty much. It has worked so far."

"Has it really? That can't be healthy, keeping things like that inside will just hurt you more in the long run. I hope you know what you're doing."

Nico sat up and Damian moved back another step and put his hands up karate style. Nico ignored him. It was not the first time he heard those words. Will had said them to him before. It had been the night he told him about Tartarus. He opened up to Will, and it had brought them closer. Will didn't say anything; he just let him talk and was there providing comfort.

He understood those words coming from Will, but why was Damian being so nice? They didn't like each other, that was clear. Why was he going out of his way to talk to Nico?

"I don't know what happened between you two, but if it is any consolation, he seems pretty devastated too."

"Does he? That doesn't make me feel better at all. Is that weird?"

"Not at all. He is important to you. You don't want to hurt the people that mean the most to you." Damian had finally lowered his arms once he realized that Nico was not going to hit him for being nosy.

Nico smiled "You are not such an idiot after all."

"Thanks? I'm gonna give one last piece of advice. I think you guys should talk. I mean, you too look super adorbs together."

"Damian."

"Yes."

"I think you should leave the room now." The guy saluted at Nico and left the room as fast as his legs allowed him. Damian was not so bad after all. Nico might give him the time of the day now.

He went back to his previous position, but now he had a new perspective on the situation. He cared about Will, deeply. Then, why had he hurt him? Will had been nothing but patient, caring and understanding to Nico. _I broke his heart,_ he thought, _I am the biggest idiot in the history of idiots._ There had been no need for them to break up, they could have talked, reach a commitment and try to make it work, but he panicked instead and sending their relationship to hell while hurting the person that meant the most to him seemed like the best course of action. Nico could go and apologize. Will did say that he would wait, but Nico didn't think that it would be fair to go and get back together because he was feeling lonely and miserable. _Will deserves better than that_.

* * *

It has been 8 days (not that he was counting) since the stupid decision. He had never been this miserable. Following Bianca's death, Nico had promised himself that he wouldn't get attached to people because they just leave without giving him a second thought. However, here he was, moping over a boy.

It was Saturday, every month they have a weekend where they could go back home and visit their families. Nico went back to camp with Will, who usually went to check on the kids that stayed at camp year round and to verify that everything was running smoothly at the infirmary. However, he was in no mood to deal with the question that was sure to appear once they saw him going back without Will. He decided to stay in school.

He assumed that Will went back to camp. So, he was at their usual spot, lying on the ground and looking at the stray rays of sunshine that slipped through the trees. The leaves were turning brown and falling, some of them falling directly on Nico as if trying to provide comfort. This was Nico's favorite time of the year. No more hot days, they were finally back to the hole where they crawled out from. He liked to fill the wind in his face. He was finally able to wear his black sweaters without getting dehydrated because of the sweating. Some people didn't like autumn because the trees look in the verge of death. It was true, but Nico saw it more as a transition; they were dying, but they would be reborn again, like a mighty phoenix rising from the ashes.

Nico was once more contemplating the absurdity of life (his favorite topic of late) when he heard somebody approaching. Apparently, nobody respected that a man sometimes needed to be alone to contemplate life. Was nothing sacred anymore? He sat up and was getting ready to summon one ghost, that should be enough to scare whoever was interrupting his meditation time. Then, he noticed the familiar mop of blond hair approaching.

Will stopped in front of Nico, he looked as if he had been expecting the place to be alone. Nico had not seen Will in those 8 days, the other boy looked like he hadn't slept in a week. He had dark circles under his eyes and he didn't look his usual sunny self. Judging by the expression on Will's face, Nico didn't look good either.

Will sat down next to him and Nico drew his knees up against his chest, making himself as small as possible, which was not too difficult. They haven't talked since the day that shall not be named. What was there to say?

"I never said that we couldn't talk anymore," Will, as usual breaking the silence when he realized that Nico was not going to speak first, not even if his life depended on it. "I miss our talks. You always made me laugh with your creepiness."

"I don't know what the rules are," he said slowly, this was not his field of expertise. "I have never dated anyone before."

"Me neither. I guess that gives us the right to make up our own rules, don't you think?"

Nico shrugged. They were both inexperienced at this whole relationship thing. How do you handle a situation like this? That's what they should teach in school. Something actually worth knowing. They stayed there in silence. Nico couldn't believe how some people didn't like silence, it was so underrated. It's better to be quiet when there is nothing meaningful to say. Their eyes met from time to time and they looked away, too embarrassed to maintain eye contact even for a few seconds.

"Wanna play 20 questions?"

At this, Nico smiled, Will always suggested that game when they were having trouble communicating their thoughts (mostly Nico) they went back and forth asking any type of question. First, they asked the silly ones such as favorite color, favorite food, favorite drink, and then, they turned into more serious territory, getting into questions that had to do with whatever was it they were dealing. Nico thought this might be a good idea. He nodded and he knew it had been the right decision when Will smiled. He probably hadn't smiled for a week, that was a loss for the entire universe.

"Okay, I'll start with an easy one. Kiss, marry, kill. Your choices are Jason, Percy, and Frank."

"That's not a question."

"Yes, it is and you have to answer. That's how the game works."

"You are cheating at 20 questions. You should be ashamed of yourself. At least change Frank, he is my sister's boyfriend. I'll be dead no matter what I choose."

"Fine, I'll change him for Leo."

Well, that made things a bit easier for Nico. "Kill Leo, I don't want to marry or kiss any of the other two."

"You sure about that."

Nico gave Will his death stare, the other boy was playing with fire since question one. "It was just a crush and I got over it, but since you are being so insistent. I guess I'll marry Percy and kiss Jason. Are you glad now?"

"Why must you hurt me like this? I'm offended I tell you." Will being the dramatic son of Apollo he was, clutched his chest, and lie down on the grass pretending to die.

"Stop it, it's my turn now. Why are you always so damn happy?" A question that had been burning in Nico's mind since he met Will. It was not humanly possible to be that happy 24/7.

"I'm going to answer that with another question, but it is by no means my second question to you." Will pushed himself to a sitting position and looked at Nico straight in the eye until the other boy nodded in agreement. "Why not? Life is hard enough, Nico. me being happy might not change the state of this world, but it does change me. I have a different, more optimistic outlook in life. I try to focus on the good things rather than the bad ones, and I like to believe that I can make others happy as well. Smiling is contagious, you know."

"Is that a medical fact?" asked Nico, making clear how ridiculous he thought that concept was.

"It is. Believe me, I am the Doctor." He winked seductively at Nico.

Nico wanted to punch him. Will was a huge fan of Doctor Who and he got Nico hooked. He was in love with the show now, but Will kept making jokes about how he could be either a doctor and The Doctor. It got old after a while. "Don't do the accent. It's ridiculous. Ask your next question." He had to admit, the game was working. He was not hugging his knees anymore. It made him relax a little and enjoyed Will's presence without feeling any pressure.

"Why do you like McDonald's so damn much?"

They didn't argue much, but every time McDonald's came up in a conversation, it was going to end up in disaster. Will kept criticizing Nico's choice of a nutritious meal. "Well, excuse me, doctor. Your body gets everything it needs from those meals. You got protein and other nutrients that are good for your system. Just look at me, I am a paragon of good health. In addition to that, it is delicious. I mean, those fries alone could be the solution of this world's problems."

"I can not believe how passionate you are about that food. Do you want me to show you the chart again?"

The Chart. Will had made a chart to show Nico how unbalanced those meals were. He even prepared some slides and a whole presentation. Nico's response had been to shadow travel to the closest McDonald's and buy two cheeseburgers. He passed out, but it had been worth it.

"You bring that chart out and I'll shove it in your mouth. Anyway, it's my turn now. Kiss, marry, kill: Paolo, Jason, and Cecil."

Will gave him the I-know-what-you're-doing look. Nico was not a jealous man, but Paolo had his eyes on Will and he knew it. He spent too much time at the infirmary "hanging out". More like ogling the cute doctor.

"Let's see. I'd kill Cecil because he's my friend and it would be weird to kiss or marry him."

"Wouldn't it be weirder to kill your friend?"

"No, when that friend is as annoying as Cecil. I would kiss Paolo and Marry Jason because we are both blond and we could freak out people by telling them that we are first cousins."

Nico was impressed by that answer and a bit scared. "There is a whole creepy side of you I didn't know about."

"I learnt from the best," he winked at Nico and had a mischievous smile on his face. Whatever was coming, Nico was not going to like it. "It's my turn. What is your guilty pleasure?" _That idiot._ "Don't give me that face di Angelo, you know mine."

True, the last time they played the game, Nico found out that Will liked to watch Mexican soap operas. He said that he watched them only to improve his Spanish, but it was a lie, he enjoyed the drama. _Pendejo ese._ It was only fair to share his.

"If you ever tell this to anyone, I will destroy you, Solace." He made some bones come up from the earth just to make sure that Will got his point. _Be brave, man, be brave. You can do this. There is no shame in that,_ Nico thought gathering all the courage he had inside. "I sometimes listen to ABBA when I'm feeling down." There, he said it.

Will gasped and covered his mouth with his hand, as if Nico had confessed a murder. Then, he started laughing so hard, Nico could have sworn even the sun was affected by it. It was brighter now. The other was rolling on the floor, saying "Oh my God" between breaths.

"Are you crying?"

There were tears streaming down Will's face. The other boy sat up and was clutching at his sides, apparently, the laugh had been too much for him. Nico didn't deserve this, he didn't laugh this much when Will told him about the _novelas._

"Oh man, I can't believe it. Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, the Ghost King, the Ramone t-shirts guy. That same guy listens to ABBA. This is too much information. Oh my God, which one is your favorite song?"

Nico gave him the death stare. This just made the other boy laugh harder. Those death stares never seemed to work on Will.

"Is it Dancing Queen? Young and sweet only seventeen?" Will sang that last part. Stupid and talented song of Apollo. He looked cute even when he was being ridiculous.

"I refuse to answer that question. It's my turn now. What's your biggest fear?" That should shut him up.

Will did stop singing. He was deep in thought as if trying to find the perfect answer for the question at hand. These were the moments where Will look the cutest. Faraway look on his face, scrunching up his nose in concentration, a motion that made his freckles stood up. Nico tried to count them once, it had been hard because will kept kissing him and he lost count every time. The idiot. Will came back and looked at Nico straight in the eye.

"There are a lot of things I'm afraid of; oblivion, a patient dying on my table, losing more of my siblings, not being able to heal anymore, and many others. However, right now, the thing I'm afraid the most is losing you."

Nico's breath caught in his throat, why did Will have to be such a wonderful, straightforward person? Nico didn't deserve someone as perfect as Will and Will certainly didn't deserve someone as damaged as Nico, who only kept him from being happy. Nico understood this, yet he didn't want to let Will go. Did that make him selfish?

"You are not going to lose me." He muttered loud enough for Will to hear him, but he kept his eyes on the floor, he didn't want to see the hope that was probably shining right now in Will's unfairly gorgeous eyes. He might decide to back out of what he said. So he cleared his throat. "It's your turn."

"Right," Will cleared his throat too, but it took him almost two minutes to come up with a question. The guy was out of his wits, just like Nico. "What would you do if you got one million dollars?"

Such a bullshit question. Nico didn't need to think that one. "I'll give them to you, so there won't be a need for you to get a student loan. You could focus only on becoming the greatest doctor this country has ever seen." Nico knew Will had been pulling a lot of one-nighters studying and get a perfect score on his SATs. He was hoping for at least have a scholarship and he was aiming for Harvard. Nico had offered to talk to Hades and convince him to pay for it, but Will refused, he was a proud man. Also, he found the prospect of being indebted to the Lord of the Underworld terrifying.

"You have a beautiful soul, I hope you know that," was Will's response.

"You are the only one who thinks that."

"It is not what I think. It's true. Your turn."

"What's your happiest memory?"

Will smiled, and if that wasn't a reason for the world to keep turning, then Nico didn't know what was.

"It had to be when I discovered that I could heal. I was 7, I still didn't know about Apollo or camp Half-Blood. One time, I found this little bird in our backyard. He felt from his nest, he had a broken wing. I picked him up and took him inside the house. Seven-year-old me decided to bandage it, but I didn't know how to do it. So, I kept him for a few days to see if he could heal himself and fly again, but the bird didn't want to eat and I started crying thinking that he was going to die and that it would be my fault because I didn't do anything." Will kept holding his hands out as if the bird was still there. "I thought to make his passing as smooth as possible and I started singing for him. All of a sudden, I saw this light coming from my hands; I felt my emotions flowing through my voice and then, the little bird moved his wing and he sang with me. I know it sounds like some Snow White thing, but it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Nico had in his mind an image of a 7 year-old Will, who was probable a tiny version of the 17 year-old one, but with more freckles and a look of wonder in his face, throw a missing tooth in the mix and he must had been the cutest kid in that neighbourhood. Nico realized that he had never felt anything like that when he knew about his powers. There was such a huge difference between them. Will's gift was life whereas Nico's gift was death.

"That is amazing. I can't begin to imagine how you felt." Will was giving him the smile that made the world disappear around them.

"It was an out of this world experience. My mom saw it; that's when she told me about my dad. It was surreal, for a while I told everyone that I was the son of a God."

"Were you acting like a little lord?" Now the image of little Will acting like a king was going to be stuck in his head for ever.

"More like a little shit. Anyway, it's my turn now and I don't think I can wait until the last question so I'm just going to throw it out there. Do you think I can make you happy?" There it was, Will's bluntness. He could never finish the game. He ended up asking the important questions before they even made it to number 10. Nico thought that if Will had been honest with him, then it was time for him to be as well.

"You make me happy, Will. You have no idea how much. I am having difficulties accepting this reality. I have been miserable for so long that I don't know how to be happy anymore and I ended up hurting you." He couldn't say anything else, but he didn't want to give Will a chance to respond to what he said, so he asked his next question, the one that was supposed to be his last question. The question that had been in the back of his mind for a whole week. "Why are you in love with me?"

Will gave him a dry laugh. "Is it so hard to believe? I have seen you in battle twice now, and you were one of the bravest fighters I have ever seen. I mean, you convinced your dad to come and fight with us. I have seen you accepting and loving your new sister. Your willingness to help new kids in camp so they can learn how to defend themselves. You helped me in the infirmary, you worry about me and most importantly you put your trust in me by telling me about your family and everything you've been through. You are a wonderful human being, you are just hiding it under this bad boy exterior. You are great Nico, I know it's difficult for you to see it, but trust me when I tell you that is there."

"Why do you have to be so damn sweet?" Nico was blushing so hard, he must look like a tomato. Will was the nicest guy ever, he deserved someone who was willing to put everything in a relationship, not somebody like Nico, who run at the first sign of trouble. _Oh Gods, no, now I'm crying._ There were tears streaming down Nico's face, he couldn't stop them. This was the second time he cried in front of Will, what would the other think of him? He was hiding his face in his hands in a futile attempt to keep his composure. He was not brave, he was weak.

"Is it okay if I hug you?" was all Will asked.

Nico didn't trust himself with words, he nodded and Will wrapped his arms around him. Nico liked that about Will, he never said _you'll be fine_ or _cheer up_ or _that's no reason to cry_. Will knew that he didn't have to try and be optimistic when Nico got like this. He didn't need to say "comforting" words. Being there was enough.

They hugged until Nico ran out of was rubbing his back up and down, Nico's head was tucked under Will's chin and his hands were around the other boy's waist. This was Nico's happy place, here in Will's arms. One of the few places where he felt safe.

"Maybe we did this too fast," said Will. Nico didn't want to leave the safety of those arms, not yet. He hugged him harder, urging him to continue. "Maybe we got into a relationship too fast. We skipped the friendship part a bit, don't you think?"

Nico let go of Will, but only a little, his hand were still around Will's waist, yet in this position he could look into Will's eyes. He had never been able to find a perfect description for that particular shade of blue, so he just called it Will blue.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Start over, meet each other again," he cupped Nico's face and wiped some errand tears from Nico's cheeks. "We could be embarrassing best friends, best bros and then give it a try again. You know, like best bros do."

Nico had to laugh at that. "I do not believe that's how best bros work. I do have a question. How about your… you know? It doesn't seem fair."

"Well, they are not going anywhere. I want to be by your side. I know you care about me, we just need to know each other better."

"It seems to me like you are settling."

"I'm not. I'm trying to understand you and support you in whatever you need. Besides, once you get to know me better, you'll see what a catch I am. What do you say?" Will stuck out his hand for Nico to shake. "Hi, I'm Will Solace, nice to meet you."

Nico looked at the offered hand and then at the boy who was putting his feelings aside to make him feel comfortable. Could he do this? Could he forget about Will's feelings while they were hanging out as friends? Can best friends kiss each other? he wanted to do that now.

He decided that it wouldn't be easy, but if Will wanted to try, then Nico could certainly give it a shot as well. Something clicked in his mind. He forgot what Camus message had been all along. Yes, life is absurd, but that doesn't mean you can't be happy. On the contrary, It makes you appreciate more the few moments of happiness you get in life. Right here with Will, that was happiness for him. He shook the other boy's hand with a little grin on his face.

"I'm Nico di Angelo, nice to meet you too."


End file.
